Breakdown of Рабочий катит пустую бочку по гладкому асфальту.
пустой
empty
по
along, around
рабочий
worker
катить
to roll (unidirectional) / to push
Questions & Answers about Рабочий катит пустую бочку по гладкому асфальту.
Why do we use катит here instead of катает?
Катит is the unidirectional verb for rolling an object. We use it here because the worker is currently rolling the barrel in a single, specific direction. If he were rolling it back and forth, or if this were a general habit, we would use the multidirectional verb катать (forming катает).
Could we use the reflexive verb катится or катается here?
No, because those verbs are intransitive (meaning the action doesn't transfer to a direct object). You would use катится if the barrel were rolling all by itself (бочка катится). But since the worker is rolling another object (the direct object пустую бочку), we must use the non-reflexive, transitive verb катить.
Why are the words гладкому асфальту in the dative case?
The preposition по takes the dative case when describing motion "along", "down", or "across" a surface. Here, the movement of rolling the barrel is happening continuously along the surface of the asphalt.
The word Рабочий looks like an adjective ending in -ий. Is it a noun here?
Yes! Рабочий is a substantivized adjective. It acts entirely as a noun meaning "manual worker," but it still changes its endings exactly like a standard adjective. If you were talking about a worker as a direct object, for instance, it would become рабочего.